Estate Planning Resources
Links
Internal Revenue Service - www.irs.gov
N.C. Dept. of Revenue - www.dor.state.nc.us
Department of Veterans Affairs - www.va.gov
State Medicaid Manual - available at www.cms.hhs.gov
Special Needs Alliance - www.specialneedsalliance.org
Featured Articles
This page contains a variety of articles related to estate planning and administration. We update frequently, so check back often for the latest article, or browse the archived articles on the right.
Preserving Your Independence
As we get older, it often seems that time accelerates. It feels as if the children were in diapers just yesterday. Now they've left home and have kids of their own. Where does the time go?
Aging is a normal part of life. The infant becomes a toddler. Later the teenager becomes an adult (thankfully). Unfortunately, as we age later in life we are no longer as able-bodied as when we were teenagers. Gradually, we all get more aches and pains. While this is a normal, expected part of the aging process, what would happen if something serious were to occur? Let's take a look at Betty's situation.
Can We Only Expect the Unexpected from Congress?
Your estate plan may need a tax checkup!
Sign after sign from Washington in 2009 suggested that Congress would repeal the estate tax repeal, or at least extend 2009's $3.5 million applicable exclusion from estate tax into 2010. It never happened. As a result, for individuals dying in 2010, the estate tax has now actually been repealed, as legislated all those many years ago, in the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 ("EGTRRA").
While the repeal of the estate tax might sound like something to celebrate, the party will be short-lived, and seemingly restricted to those who plan to die in 2010 (or, ironically, to their loved ones?) - as Congressional action in 2001 also provided for the rebirth of the estate tax in 2011, for all estates in excess of $1 million.
Estate Planning Is Life Planning
By Mark O. Costley
What is the fist thing that leaps to most people's minds when they think about estate planning? A will. We've all seen the dramatic scenes in films of yesteryear: the reading of the will. The truth of the matter is that the will is no longer the focal point of estate planning.
A well-rounded estate plan includes five documents: a revocable living trust, a general durable power of attorney, a health care power of attorney, a living will and a will. Probably the least important of these is the will. A will is effective only at death; the other four documents have an impact during your lifetime.